Not Strong Enough
by ThatAwkwardOne
Summary: Her mother always said she came from a family of overachievers, and she's spent most of her life trying to live up to her father's expectations to be a kunoichi. Not matter how hard she's tried, she was just never strong enough. After being saved by the unexpected, she finds herself drifting towards Suna every passing year...Gaara/OC


**A/N~ So I've decided to give this a shot. Writing a Naruto story and whatnot...Please, feel free to leavea review and let me know how I've done and etc. Really looking forward to seeing what people have to say!**

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_"You shall treat your father with respect Ren." An older woman bent down to Ren's level, her electric blue eyes seeming to stare straight into her daughter's soul. At least, that's what it felt like to Ren._  
_The eight year old Ren sniffled indignantly, staring straight back at her mother with a fairly stern look. "It's no fair though!"_  
_Kaori sighed as she pulled her daughter into a comforting hug, her ears occasionally catching the sound of her husband sparring with their son, Iro. "It's true that your father underestimates you Ren. But that is where you must prove him wrong…prove to him what you're capable of." _  
_She pulled Ren away to once again fully gaze into her eyes. With a soft smile that only Kaori could ever seem to manage, she tapped Ren on the nose. _  
_Wrinkling her nose in response, she said, "Okay Momma…" Then a grin lit her face up. "I'll prove what a great ninja I am! One day I'll even be better than Father!" _  
_Kaori laughed at Ren's new resolve, tucking a strand of her daughters hair behind her ear. "As long as you keep pushing forward you can do anything." Kaori pressed a firm, motherly kiss on Ren's left cheek before straightening up and gesturing outside. "Better get out there and start proving your father wrong."_  
_Ren nodded firmly, her eyes and jaw set in a stern way before climbing to her feet and running outside._

"Ren!"  
Ren jolted awake at the sound of Iro's voice calling her out of the deep sleep she'd been in. She rubbed her tousled blonde hair, a sigh slipping past her lips as she saw aforementioned brother standing in the doorway of her bedroom with an amused look dancing in his bright yellow eyes.  
"You'll be late if you don't hurry." He said smoothly.  
It took Ren a moment to realize what her elder brother was saying. Late? For what? What did Ren have to-  
Her bright eyes widened as it hit suddenly hit her what she was going to be late for. Kinchiro was going to kill her for being late, that much she knew. Ren clambered from her bed, groping around until she came up with her clothes. She shooed Iro out of her room as she slipped into a pair of navy shorts and a loose, white shirt.  
Ren made sure she had all she needed before scurrying out of her bedroom. She made sure she had her sandals one (it was normal for her to forget to put shoes on), her kunai and shuriken pouch, and her hitai-ate. The ten year old girl paused on her way through the kitchen, grinning at the sight of her younger sister sipping orange juice. She tapped the younger girl on the nose, earning herself a glare before she bid Mariko goodbye.  
She rushed down the streets of Konoha, dodging and swerving through civilians and ninja. Every now and then she would trip over her feet, but she figured she was making good time.  
So she thought.  
"Ren, you're late," Were the very first words out of Sayuri-sensei's mouth when the girl came skidding to a stop in one of the many training grounds.  
"What…?" Ren stood there, looking dumbfounded as her head tilted to stare at her sensei.  
Hiroki Senshiro snickered, a smirk shortly gracing his lips. Ren cut her eyes at him, her glare only semi-threatening.  
"I'm sorry Sayuri-sensei," Ren apologized, bowing her head.  
"Be on time next time." Sayuri-sensei raised an eyebrow at her, motioning for Ren to join her other two teammates, Kinchiro and Hiroki.  
Ren grudgingly took a spot between the boys, keeping her lips clamped tight as the stared at their sensei with utter respect. She often cut glances between Hiroki and Kinchiro, wondering why she'd been put with them. Not that they didn't get along…well her and Kinchiro got along fairly well. But not Ren and Hiroki.  
"Today, we will be delivering a package to Suna." The three genin exchanged looks of disbelief and utter excitement at the prospect of doing something beside pulling weeds and fetching runaway cats. "Don't get too excited though. It's a simple delivery and the chances of running into trouble are nearly non-existent."  
Kinchiro was the first to incline his head and ask, "When do we leave Sayuri-sensei?"  
"Now." Sayuri-sensei smiled, the corners of her blue eyes lifted.  
"Let's go then!" Hiroki suddenly threw his fist into the air, his excitement nearly overwhelming him. He was ecstatic that they were finally getting to do something he knew they were capable of.  
Team 13 set out after retrieving the package they were to deliver. They traveled through the woods and Ren couldn't help but feel a tiny spark of exhilaration herself. If it weren't for Hiroki and Kinchiro she wouldn't be off on a mission like this. After all, they were two of the most skilled genin she knew (asides from that Uchiha boy, of course).  
Ren knew how lucky she was to have them despite the constant bickering between her and Hiroki. She respected Hiroki who was ultimately aiming to be a weapon's master, while Kinchiro was constantly working to perfect his taijutsu.  
"This is a simple mission. Super easy." Hiroki proclaimed a few days later, twining his fingers behind his neck with an easy smile whenever they crossed over the borders of the Wind Country. "I mean, how difficult could this be? Unless Ren finds a way to mess it up."  
Kinchiro snorted at Hiroki's words while Ren cut her eyes at him. "Oh shut up." Ren sent a punch flying for his shoulder.  
Hiroki easily dodged the punch, as always, her knuckles barely grazing against his shirt. Her brows furrowed at her miss, dissatisfied with her lack of ability to hit her teammate.  
"Nice try," He said with an overconfident smirk she'd become accustomed to.  
Ren rolled her eyes, sniffing as she moved to flank the other side of Kinchiro. "Jerkface." She shot back with a scowl.  
Sure, Ren wasn't particularly strong, nor was her aim totally perfect. Actually, more often than not, her aim was totally off. But Hiroki was nowhere near as fast as Ren was. She had a sneaking suspicion that that gave him the incentive to constantly antagonize her. Still, even with her speed, she was always five steps behind her teammates.  
"You're the one who's always lagging behind," Hiroki snapped.  
"Says the one who can't keep up with me."  
"Your aim is awful."  
"And you're exceedingly slow." Ren scowled.  
Hiroki rolled his eyes and said, "Jerk."  
"Whiny baby."  
"Don't make hurt you."  
"You'd have to catch me first," Ren responded with a snort.  
"Will the two of you please shove it? You're getting on my nerves," Kinchiro declared. Between the two of them he always acted like the peacekeeper.  
Ren and Hiroki's arguments were similar to the ones she had with Iro, only less violent and much less sincere. The two genin were really just joking around with each other. They didn't actually mean anything by their insults. Although anybody outside of Team 13 would have guessed otherwise.  
"Kinchiro is right." Sayuri spoke up, glancing back with hazel eyes. "The two of you should be concentrating on your surroundings instead of arguing. With your lack of awareness an enemy could strike at any given moment without you noticing."  
Both Hiroki and Ren looked down at the ground, cheeks burning pink at the scolding they'd just received. The shame they felt was evident on their face. It was true though, they knew better.  
The team continued walking in silence for nearly a half hour. Ren kept her hands shoved in the pocket of her navy shorts, head tilted downwards still. Strands of blonde hair fell from her normally messy braid to frame her face. Hiroki still stood on the other side of Kinchiro, his head tilted towards the sky. He seemed to be in deep concentration, unlike Kinchiro who was utterly alert.  
That was when it happened.  
One moment everything was at peace. The surrounding desert was silent and nothing seemed wrong. Then a shuriken came spinning out of nowhere, catching Sayuri-sensei by surprise. The shuriken barely grazed the jounin's shoulder as she quickly leapt out of the way.  
Hiroki was the first of the genin to move, switching to a defensive position as he scanned the surrounding desert. He was their weapons specialist, and they all knew he would one day be one of the best. Kinchiro followed suit, his eyes landing on the three dark figures rapidly approaching them.  
Ren kept on her toes, fingers resting against her kunai pouch attached to the belt she wore. Her nerves were shot as she nearly bounced on her toes from the sudden rush of adrenaline. This was supposed to be an easy mission without any sort of conflict. If that were the case, what the hell was this?  
It didn't take long for Sayuri-sensei to realize something wasn't right. The ninja approaching had to be experienced enough to hid their chakra from her, or else she would have sensed them sooner. She quickly shouted for the three to prepare themselves to run just in case.  
But Team 13 had never been good with following orders.  
Kinchiro, Hiroki, and Ren immediately launched into a fight with two of the bandits. Hiroki and Kinchiro against a brute of a man, while Hiroki took on a tall, slender girl Sayuri-sensei tried to interfere only to be stopped by the other man who was eager to fight. Sayuri dodged the attacks thrown her way, returning the attacks with equal force and determination.  
Hiroki seemed to be pulling scrolls out of nowhere, assaulting the woman with weapons while dodging and flipping out of the way as the woman slashed her kunai at him. Kinchiro and Ren fought together. The man was easily dodging the shuriken Ren shakily threw at him, causing her to curse her awful aim. Kinchiro seemed to be nearly aggravated as they discarded any weapons and fought pure hand to hand combat.  
Kinchiro aimed a well-placed kick at the man's head, but it just turned out to be a shadow clone. Before Kinchiro could say anything, the man appeared behind Ren, clipping her in the head with his fist. Ren stumbled forward, clutching her now aching head and feeling rather dizzy. Her shaking fingers sought out a kunai, spinning around and slashing out at the man only to find him gone again.  
She swore under her breath, glancing over only to see him engaged in battle with Kinchiro again.  
For once, Ren decided to totally disregard any of the lesson she'd received from Sayuri-sensei about form and poise.  
The next thing the man knew, he had a twelve year old brat clinging to his back, her mouth clamped down hard on his shoulder. He let out a shout, a string of curses following soon after.  
"Get off me you little bitch!" His large, meaty palm gripped Ren's arm with general ease. He pulled at it, resulting in her clamping down harder until he gave a hard enough jerk to detach the girl.  
With a scowl he tossed her away, dodging Kinchiro once again.  
Ren landed a few yards away in a pitiful heap. She attempted to push herself up, feeling a sharp pang in her shoulder. Still, she forced herself to her feet, grabbing a discarded kunai from the sand with her left hand. Once again, she threw herself back into the fight, giving the now angry man someone else to deal with.  
"Ren, Kinchiro, Hiroki! Get out of here!" Sayuri shouted as she dodged the man she was fighting.  
That's how they knew this wasn't some random attack. This was much more.  
Ren full-on stared at their sensei in shock, halting in her movements."B-but-"  
"GO!"  
Before Ren could say much else, she felt a sharp pain in her leg. When she looked down, she openly gaped at the gash from the kunai that had grazed her thigh.  
Kinchiro wrapped his hand around Ren's wrist, as always being the sensible one who knew they couldn't take on the ninja, or whoever they really were, especially at night. Their sensei could take care of herself, something they all knew.  
So he drug Ren along after him until the girl finally had the sense to run herself. The man immediately started after them, but the ninja Sayuri-sensei was fighting snapped at him to ignore the 'three little brats'. Which was how Hiroki managed to slip away from the woman.  
The three genin stumbled through the sand, heading in the direction they'd been going before with Kinchiro leading the way. They didn't notice at first, but Hiroki was lagging behind. When Ren was brave enough to spare a glance behind them she saw that the ninja and their sensei was now just a dot in the distance they'd covered.  
She also noticed how slowly Hiroki was moving.

Ren and Kinchiro slowed down to look back at their red-headed teammate. He was really dragging behind, something he normally didn't do. Ren's heart raced at the poor shape he seemed to be in. He had to just be tired. That was all. Just from fighting the ninja who were far more experienced than the three of them.  
"Hiroki are you alright?" Kinchiro questioned as he fell in step beside the abnormally pale Hiroki.  
He winced, his fingers clenching around his right arm. Ren frowned, moving to jerk his hands away. A gasp fell from her lips at the long gash running down his arm, dripping crimson blood. Kinchiro's eyes widened at the sight, although the two knew it couldn't be fatal. But that wasn't all, there was also the problem with the other cuts and gashes covering his arms and even his chest.  
"She was really fast…" Hiroki gasped out as he flinched from pain, "We should hurry to Suna and hope they'll help."  
"How much farther?" Ren asked, trying her best to remain calm.  
Despite his current condition, Hiroki still managed to sneer at the blonde girl. "Not much. You'd know that if you paid attention in class back at the Academy."  
Before they set off they bandaged Ren's leg, wrapping more of the bandages around Hiroki who claimed it would be useless.  
"We need to go." Kinchiro suggested after tightening one last bandage, already sliding his arm underneath Hiroki to support the other boy.  
Ren copied his actions, knowing that working together they could make fairly good time. Hiroki set his face in a grim expression. He knew they wouldn't get him there in time, no matter how quickly they moved.  
Kinchiro had taken quite a bit of damage himself fighting. Ren's right arm was in agonizing pain, so much to where she could barely move it and she was limping from the wound she'd received from the shuriken. Still, Hiroki was in way worse shape than either of them, so they trudged onwards through the cold, night desert.  
"Can we…just…stop…and rest for…a few…minutes?" Hiroki coughed out later on, trying his best to bring the trio to a halt.  
"No!" Ren snapped, narrowing her eyes at the boy. "We're almost there, right Kinchiro?"  
Kinchiro exchanged a weary glance with Ren, for once noticing how afraid the girl looked. "Almost." He inclined his head towards the sand dunes in the distance as if to verify his statement.  
They trudged onwards, painstakingly slow. With the amount of blood Ren had lost, she was becoming more and more lightheaded by the second. Hiroki was on the very of losing consciousness, occasionally receiving a light slap to the head from Kinchiro who was determined to keep him awake. Kinchiro, who seemed to have taken the least damage, struggled onwards while taking most of Hiroki's weight on himself.  
"Hey, look!" Ren trained her eyes on a figure in the distance, a person no doubt, and not much farther from that the village, which could only be Suna.  
Ren looked ready to give a shout a shout of excitement, but her throat was too dry for that. They'd been walking for hours, or so it seemed. She was tired, Hiroki was seriously injured, and she wasn't in the best condition, and Kinchiro was becoming increasingly weary.  
One of the genin stumbled, although none of them were sure which of them it was. It sent them all tumbling into the sand. Ren spat the sand out, cutting her eyes to Kinchiro who had pushed himself up. He tried to stand, but fell right back down.  
"I'll go," Ren suggested as she pushed herself into a standing position, "I'll get help. You just stay here with Hiroki."  
A frown adorned Kinchiro's cracked lips. "You're injured Ren, don't be ridiculous."  
"I'm the fastest though, injury or not." Determination sparked in the young girl's eyes, despite the fear that was a constant in the back of her mind. What had happened to Sayuri-sensei? What was going to happen to them?  
"Hurry."  
Ren was hobbling away as soon as the word left Kinchiro's mouth. Her jaw clenched at how pitiful she felt for not being as fast as she could have been. As always, she cursed how weak she was. She should have been stronger, but she didn't have the strength her father or elder brother had. More than likely, she would never have that strength.  
"Help!" The shaky shout left her mouth when she thought they were in earshot.  
However, helping didn't seem to be what they had in mind.  
In just seconds sand had rose up, wrapping around the girl's tiny body, and tightening considerably. Ren coughed as the breath left her in a rush, a yelp of pain following soon after.  
"Please," She begged, squeezing her eyes tight, not even daring to look whoever she was speaking to in the eye, "M-my teammates need help, they're not too far back. We were attacked on our way." She hurriedly explained, opening her eyes only to find black dots dancing around.  
Off in the distance she heard a girl's shout, but she couldn't quite catch what she was saying. More spots appeared in her line of vision, that same feeling of nausea hitting her. Before she completely lost consciousness, the sand's grip lessened, releasing her. She landed hard on the ground, and the last thing she saw was a flash of red hair.


End file.
